When Magic Fails

By Brian Houchin and Jackie Houchin

Three Deer is a quiet little town nestled in the mountains of northwest Montana. Not much had happened there since it was built in the early part of 2001. You might say that the strangest thing about the town of Three Deer is Ranger Joshua Blackwolf. He never seems to age, and his skills are scary good. Suddenly the town, the Ranger and his wife become the central players in a multidimensional, time travel drama.

During a routine patrol on Lost Horse Mountain, Joshua arrests a group of Eco-Reapers who are poaching animals. He discovers that some of the men have split off from their group to plunder a nearby cave. The Eco-Reapers unintentionally activate and ancient relic, and the resulting gate kills them instantly and Joshua is reluctantly pulled through the portal into a strange new world.

He finds himself traveling through a world similar to Earth but as different to him as night and day. While looking for his way home, he encounters a group of people under attack. After coming to the rescue, Joshua is befriended by the people he saved. He finds himself pulled into a growing mystical prophecy that foretells his arrival to save their world.

Meanwhile back on Earth, Amber Snow Lynx, Joshua’s wife and the mayor and tribal leader of Three Deer, must deal with other worldly encounters with all manner of people and creatures coming through the newly activated gate. The quiet little town of Three Deer becomes ground zero for the weird and strange. Amber finds herself thrust into the role of general, as she leads her group of Rangers and volunteers and Amazon warriors through a series of desperate battles to save her home.

After defending Three Deer from a variety of creatures and small armies, Amber makes a startling discovery. The Earth is in grave peril. Opening the gate has caused a cascade effect and the multidimensional worlds are going to collide if the gate isn’t shut down. The gate is also Joshua’s only way back home. Time is running out for everyone.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fideli Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 2, 2011
• ISBN: 9781604144161

Brian Houchin and Jackie Houchin

Many of the interests that inspire Brian &Jackie in their writings are history, art, music and poetry. Some of their family activities include making arts & crafts and late night sessions of RPG’s (Role, Playing, Games). They live in southern Indiana, where they like to take walks in the woods while teaching their three children about the land around them. Brian is currently working on several other books. Three of these are sequels to “When Magic Fails,” his first published book. Also currently in the works are two books he’s writing about the paranormal. Digging into the past for information and doing research are some of Brian and Jackie’s favorite pastimes. Much of their time is spent gathering material for future stories. Currently Jackie is working on a composite book of poetry, while co-writing books with her husband.

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When Magic Fails

By Brian Houchin & Jackie Houchin

Smashwords ebook edition published by Fideli Publishing Inc.

© Copyright 2011, Brian Houchin & Jackie Houchin

No part of this eBook may be reproduced or shared by any electronic or mechanical means, including but not limited to printing, file sharing, and email, without prior written permission from Fideli Publishing.

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ISBN: 978-1-60414-416-1

Contents

Dedication

Introduction

Prologue

Chapter One: To Protect and Serve

Chapter Two: I’m Not Crazy

Chapter Three: Tribal Council

Chapter Four: Tracking Trouble

Chapter Five: Mammoth vs. Cowboys & Indians

Chapter Six: POW WOW gets canceled

Chapter Seven: Timber and the Armadillo

Chapter Eight: Where am I?

Chapter Nine: Three Deer vs. Gaaks and Hill Giants

Chapter Ten: Camping Out

Chapter Eleven: Surprise, Surprise, Surprise

Chapter Twelve: Travel Times/New Digs

Chapter Thirteen: Meeting King Custer

Chapter Fourteen: Fort Blackwolf, Three Deer Montana

Chapter Fifteen: Battle Grounds

Chapter Sixteen: Best Laid Plans

Chapter Seventeen: Lattimeer

Chapter Eighteen: World's in Crisis

Chapter Nineteen: Hard Decision

Chapter Twenty: Preparations

Chapter Twenty-One: Going to War

Chapter Twenty-Two: Fire Rain

Epilogue

About the Authors

Dedication

To my lovely wife, Jackie, whose encouragement and patience helped make this book a reality.

To my parents, who never really understood my writing, but stood behind me with their support.

To my children, who keep me young even though they give me gray hair sometimes.

To my fans, I really hope you all enjoy the book.

Introduction

When I first thought about doing this book, I wanted to do a story that was about time travel. What I ended up with was something totally different. I’m big on trying to be accurate and stay within the rules of time travel. I like to be true to the butterfly effect, which was something I learned about ten million years ago in science class.

The decision to change my mode of thinking wasn’t made lightly. There were things that my wife and I wanted to try in this book that would directly conflict with most conventional time and space theories.

What I didn’t want was to try to answer a bunch of questions from angry readers who wanted everything to be science fact. So, I decided to go with a lateral approach to the conventional way of thinking and do a what if.

What if the church had never taken control of society?

What if the ancient races of people like those from Atlantis and the Mayans, Aztecs, Incas, and other groups had never died out?

What if magic never became extinct?

What if the Dark Ages never stopped?

What if the Renaissance never happened?

What if the Industrial revolution never happened?

What if the highest level of technology was a catapult or a ballista?

What if none of these things happened and time continued at a normal pace?

All of these things posed interesting questions. What would our world look like, or for that matter, what would our world be like if none of these things had happened? Or if things had happened differently and the tech level had become stagnate, much like it is now — bottled up because of what the oil industry and other big businesses have done to the world.

Well, I hope to give you all a glimpse of what that might possibly be. This story, at the time of its conception, was set in the future. It was worked on over the course of many years, three jobs, too many hospitals, kids, and two presidents.

Over time, the story never changed, and that told me the story needed to be told.

Finally, after years of procrastination and a new job that gave me the time to work on it, here is the first of three books in this series. This wasn’t supposed to be the first book, but it's one that I worked on the longest and thought the hardest about.

In this book, you’ll notice that I often switch between first and last names and also use nicknames. In the story, I often refer to Joshua as Blackwolf or Wolf for short. I also refer to his wife, Amber Snow Lynx, as Amber or Snow Lynx or a few times as just Lynx. But have no fear; they are the same person(s), not new characters.

The town of Three Deer can’t be found on any map. But, I’ll tell you where I placed it. In the story, you can pinpoint the town of Three Deer, Montana, if you look at the Northwest part of the state near Libby. It sits 20 miles south of the U.S./Canadian border 5 miles right of Koocanusa Lake and HWY 37 that runs north and south next to it.

The mountain range on the other side of the lake is where I placed Lost Horse Mountain. Depending on what map you look at and what year is, Lost Horse Mountain is there on a few versions of the Montana State Map. I think that it’s been renamed, but I like the name Lost Horse, so it stayed that way in the story and I’m not changing it.

The monsters and other animals that are in this story are taken from history and folklore. Some of these animals are very recognizable, like the wooly mammoth or Russian Kodiak grizzly, both of which were said to have died out just after the last ice age. Some of the other more mythical animals are taken from cryptozoology and/or legends, folklore, horror stories and even fairytales. My telling about some of these monsters is what I have learned about them and what seems to be the most logical explanation of their physical description, powers, abilities and behavior.

In short, we just want you to relax and enjoy a good story.

Thank you

Brian & Jackie

PS — The next book in this series will explains why Joshua Blackwolf and Adam have a history. That book is called The First.

Prologue:

Castle of Night in the kingdom of Ka’Dash, capitol of the Demon lands. The castle was built inside a cave. Its interior is dark and damp and smells of smoke. It is dim inside cavernous opening to the kingdom of Ka’Dash. Light from the morning sun washes into the cave’s doorway for the first forty feet near the mouth of the castle’s entrance, but goes no further.

A man walks in. His blond hair is combed back and drawn into a ponytail; his complexion was pale, almost alabaster with a light peach tone. His attire is kingly and his stride as long as he walks down the passageway. Walking into the next passage, he paused and turned to walk to the next chamber.

Murmurs and rhyming chants are coming from the next chamber. The face of the man was a picture of beauty, almost godlike. His form was tall and well toned with lean muscle. He walks toward the sound of chanting.

Three forms peer intently into the fire as they chant. Before the man enters the chamber, the eldest of the three sisters mutters in a hushed tone, By way of walk and silent stride, my dark lord walks close behind. The three blind hags turn to face their lord, each one trying to grab the softball-sized opal eye. The blonde hag sister slaps hands away before using her longer reach to grab the eye from the table. She places it to her forehead so she can see their master.

My lord, what shall we do for you this morn? the blonde hag asks.

The gray haired sister smiles a toothless smile and grabs the opal eye, holding it to her forehead. Visions of your future to be forewarned?

She smiles an ugly smile as the black haired sister grabs the opal eye and presses it to her forehead. Or, maybe visions of your present plans for making war? She smiles with rotten teeth.

The man’s voice is clear and loud as it echoes in the huge cavernous interior, Tell me about the alignment. How long before it happens? He motions to them to look into their vision fire.

The three hags look for many long minutes, peering into the fire with their dead eyes. Each of them takes a turn with the opal eye. They pass the eye back and forth. With each pass of the eye comes with a hushed hiss, then finally, they stop.

The man looks at them, annoyed. Not understanding why they hesitate to answer his question. After many minutes of bickering and hissing at each other, Adam yells at three sisters, his voice shakes the table and thunders through the rooms and corridors. What does your vision say, hags?

The three sisters hiss at each other. Then finally, after a minute or two, they shove the white haired sister forward, while the other two sisters kneel on the floor. The white haired hag speaks:

The alignment comes in eleven suns,

The seven are marked for the comet’s son.

The tribute taken by morning light,

To summon the guardian of virtue’s light.

The morning sun will bring the One,

Its eleventh setting, your work undone.

Your kingdom ruined, destroyed, unwound.

The Blackwolf summoned, his powers unbound.

His power destroys your works anew,

With the passing light a war ensues.

The comet’s red tail has come back home,

The Blackwolf quests for his way home.

A future queen seeks this man,

To free her people and free her land.

The fire falls like rain at night,

The final war has come to fight.

Your fate is sealed, it comes to pass,

In fading light, we must pass.

To the nether world we must go,

Or be defeated by the final blow.

Adam listened in disbelief, then it finally it sinks in. What in Ball's name do you speak of, witch? I have not the patience for your trickery this day. Suddenly Adam drops his false façade and his true face shows — higher cheekbones, a ridge of horns line his brow and forehead, his canines sink down and grow, his snake eyes flash red. Savage claws extend as his wings flex wide and spread.

Adam grips the sister’s tunic with his right hand and yanks her off her feet. The opal eye drops to the dirt floor as he raises her up to his eye level.

The white haired sister begs, My lord Adam, if you please. This future need not pass. You’ll see.

Adam hissed his forked tongue in her face. Speak, witch, and be quick about it or your immortality will be tested this day! he warned.

The sister speaks:

To kill the princess, kills this vision,

The comet’s tail calls forth decision.

Strike now this day and you will see,

This vision now will never be.

Adam dropped the white haired witch on the floor and smiled a big, fanged smile. Deltona, come here! From a darkened hallway, a busty, nude lady with jet-black hair enters the chamber. Tell Lilith to send half a battalion of Gaaks with King Custer’s liaison. Kill the princess and her royal guard. Leave no survivors. Make sure that you bring me her head. She’s leaving today. If they hurry, they can catch her at Bear Valley by tomorrow or the next day's morning. Oh, and one more thing, tell her not to fail me! He turned and faced the bowing sisters, and kicks their Opal eye back to them.

[Elsewhere — same time, different dimension.]

The early dawn was crisp and cold. Joshua lay down out of sight in the tall grass near the top of the hill. The sun was just starting to rise as he watched his quarry through the rifle scope of Big Thunder, a customized lever-action sharps Winchester .50 long colt 750 grain bullet with a 36" long barrel sighted to a mile plus.

Tri-TEX, a chemical conglomerate, had sent a team of six men to dump their toxic load of barrels in their hiding spot. Two drivers and four gunmen were there to protect the load from the law. Blackwolf had been tracking them and the other three groups for three weeks. These were the last fugitives he had to round up, and he was fixing to rain on their parade. He took slow, shallow breaths as he planned his next move.

He sensed that Ben, his friend, was sneaking up behind him. Then he heard Ben take a deep breath, and Joshua drew his customized, .475 caliber handgun he called Willie and pointed it at Ben. You let out that yell and you’re goanna have a limp, Ben, Blackwolf whispered.

Ben exhaled and got down on all fours, then crawled up to Joshua. Ben grumbled a low growling garble that passed for speech [translated]: How did you know it was me? I took three baths in the soap and scrubbed really well, all over, too. I even combed out my fur. See?

Joshua looked at his lifelong friend and said, Yes. You smell ten thousand percent better. Thank you for that. But I’ve been tracking these assholes for a day and a half and I don’t want to lose them now. Blackwolf took a sip of coffee and asked Ben if he wanted a drink.

Ben’s garbled growl, Did you put sugar in it? Ben sniffed the coffee. It was strong, the way he liked it. Blackwolf didn’t like sugar in the coffee, so Ben had gotten used to it. He took a sip of the bitter, strong brew. It was good. Ben was the only one of his kind that liked coffee. He took a big swig and handed the coffee mug back to Joshua.

Ben garbled another low growl, Brought us some help. Miramar and Isto’la both came. I made them take baths, too, and scrub real good. Tell Snow Lynx thank you for the soap and brushes.

Ben pointed to where his two cousins stood perfectly still, blending in with their surroundings. No one could see the two Sasquatch, nor could they be smelled.

Two of the wanted men looked straight at Miramar and Isto’la, and they didn’t even notice they were there. Joshua pointed and showed Ben where he wanted him, and said, Wait for my signal. I’m going to put a round through the engine of the truck. That’s your cue. Move in and I’ll stop or drop the other two.

Ben nodded and snuck down to his position without making a sound.

It was hard to believe that someone who stood close to 8 feet tall and weighted close to 700 lbs. could move as quietly as Ben did, but he took his place and waited on Joshua to give his signal. Blackwolf fired Big Thunder at the center of the truck’s fender well. The round rang out and blew a 1-inch hole through the big rig’s engine block. This was followed by Joshua yelling out, Drop the guns or I’ll drop you.

This caught the men off guard. The two drivers raised their hands to surrender, and one security guard dropped his gun and raised his hands. Two of the guards grabbed for their guns, only to be snatched up by their jackets and tossed across the camp by hairy arms.

The third one turned to fire at Joshua, only to be grabbed by Ben’s big hand and flung headfirst over the top of the truck, crashing into the thick briar patch on the other side. Joshua walked down the hill, covering the first guard. He tossed Ben an extra set of handcuffs to cuff the first guard. He picked up the other security guard off the ground, and cuffed him and read him his Miranda.

Miramar and Isto’la rounded up the other two security guards, who stared to scream in panicked terror at the sight of the two adult Sasquatches walking toward them. The drivers and security guards both screamed in terror as the three Sasquatches dragged them to the center of the camp so Joshua could finish reading them their rights.

They're not human, man! They're not human, and they're going to kill us or eat us! the men yelled out over and over.

Ben let out a loud garbled growl. Tell them I’m a vegetarian. Besides, I don’t eat dirt bags! Miramar and Isto’la started laughing loudly at Ben’s remark. The men had never seen anything like Ben and his cousins.

The Sasquatch was the woodland boogieman to some people, and the Defenders of the woods and the innocent to others. Some think that they are just myth and legend. Yet, to others they are lifelong friends who lend a helping hand from time — especially when catching criminals, like right now.

Gentlemen, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ranger Joshua Blackwolf. I will be your arresting officer today. My friends here are my deputies, Ben, Miramar and Isto’la. Each of them raised their hands as Joshua introduced them. Gentlemen, you’re prohibited from dumping on reservation land, my land, according to the new laws that were signed a year ago. You’re under arrest! The charge is illegal dumping on reservation land. Blackwolf rested Big Thunder in the crook of his arm as Isto’la put the zip-tie cuffs on her prisoner.

Suddenly a crackle of automatic gunfire cut through the morning air, bullets hitting the truck, the campfire, and two bullets whizzed past Joshua’s ear and hat. Then one of the 9mm rounds hit his Kevlar lined duster, striking him square on his ranger badge. Joshua turned toward the bushes and fired the big-bore rifle. One thunderous blast hit the first gunman square in the head, blowing it apart. The shooter’s body fell down with a solid thud. More bullets crackled toward the group from behind the bushes, one round grazed Isto’la’s leg, causing her to scream out an ear-splitting yelp. Yet another slug hit one of the drivers in the neck, tearing through it with a red spray of blood.

Everyone dove for cover. Blackwolf spun around, knelt, took aim and fired the in next second. Everyone’s ears rang as Big Thunder fired again … BOOM! … The round found its mark as Joshua shot the big-bore hollow slug, striking the shooter in the chest. The round blew a 2-inch hole through his torso, leaving an 8-inch exit hole out the assailant’s back. This caused him to flip backward, head over heels.

Blackwolf was seeing red as he turned to the cuffed men where they sat. He racked the customized lever-action sharps, ejecting the brass shell. Then he asked the prisoners, Are there any more of you on this job? He looked at Isto’la leg and told Miramar to stay low and get his saddlebags from camp. Miramar took off, keeping low in the brush and disappeared.

If he gets hurt, I’ll shoot your ass deader than a door nail. Now, I’m going to ask you once more how ma … Before he finished the sentence, another barrage of bullets chopped up the truck hood and shot up the logs and ground around them.

Joshua’s anger took over and he started to chant, Ha-nana, mesh ‘a, torah Peesh'ia, ha-nan, mesh Shoran. The campfire roared a huge blue ten-foot flame, and the wind flared the fire hotter. You’re fucking with the wrong person, assholes.

Blackwolf got up and noticed everything was moving slower. The incantation worked. He moved fast, past the truck and everything seemed to stop except him. It seemed that Tri-TEX had sent and extra four men to make sure their load was disposed of. Their assault team was geared to stop the law from catching them.

Drawing both of his .475 auto-mag handguns, Joshua fired several times with unearthly speed and accuracy, hitting both gunmen in the head and chest.

You have the right to remain silent, Blackwolf said as he holstered guns. The flame died down, and the camp fell silent. Anything you do or say will be held against you in a court of law. But probably won’t make any difference, because you’re dead and you need a head to talk. You have the right to an attorney, in your case, a priest. You have the right to have him present during your questioning, or in your case, your funeral. You have the right to refuse to answer or stop questioning at any time, in your case, you can start now. Turning around he picked up Big Thunder and asked all of them if they understand their rights. The men in handcuffs are speechless. Good. With that said, let’s go.

Chapter One

To Protect and Serve

Everything was warm around Amber Snow Lynx; the thick bed covers warped her in a cozy soft cocoon. She woke to the smell of brewing coffee, the sound of sizzling bacon and the splutter of eggs on an iron skillet. The Mr. Coffee hissed and gurgled its good morning sound with the last few drops dripping into the pot. The smell of bacon and toast drifted down the hall. Snow Lynx smiled and pulled the covers over her head with a giggle. He was home. Her Wolf was home after being gone for so long. He was home.

It wasn’t a dream; after three weeks out, this time, he was home. She thought that she would need to send a search and rescue team to get him this time. Blackwolf had been gone for almost a month’s time looking for an illegal dumping operation. He caught them just before they crossed into the Canada trying to escape.

Ever since the new president signed bill 9392 in to law, the paperwork had been tripled, and so had the responsibility that came with it. The new president was a Native American Indian name William White Eagle. He was the 55th president to take office, and just about everyone loved him, from both side of the political lines and most all of the minorities. The only ones that hated him were the big business companies and racists.

Big business hated him because White Eagle had taken serious and strong steps toward environmental protection. Somehow, he had passed several new bills into laws that seemed like landslide victories for the Earth protection groups. The first bill gave 10 million square miles of land back to Native American Indian tribes. This pissed off a lot of communities, because it restructures business zones.

While people were allowed to stay in their homes, new laws were now in effect that forced major changes in big business. Because the factories or businesses were now on reservation land, the new laws changed the way their waste disposal programs were handled.

This brings us to the second bill that was passed into law. Prior to the president assuming office, it had been ruled by the Supreme Court that any business caught dumping illegally would pay the maximum fine of $20,000 per barrel. For companies that make millions a day, it was cheaper to just dump illegally then pay the fines and hire new drivers because their former ones were in prison.

The new laws now stated that any company caught dumping illegally would pay a fine of no less than $400,000 per barrel. What that meant was the average 53-foot truck loaded down with 104 drums at 55gallons apiece of toxic waste equaled $41.5 million per truck. If it was a tanker truck, 48 feet long, it worked out to a price tag of $12.5 million in fines. Put shortly, if BIG BUSINESS wanted to dump illegally, they’d better be able to pay the fines or they would serve 15 to 21 years with no parole — for everyone involved.

Some of the companies took this to heart and started arming their drivers and hiring professional criminals to fight in case they got caught. This meant that illegal dumping just got a lot more dangerous.

This brings us to the third bill that was passed into law, the Clean Earth Act. The Clean Earth Act made more stringent laws against water pollution, illegal cutting, illegal dumping, and destruction of natural resources. It also took steps toward cleaner air and water laws. This bill also supported steps to create alternative fuel sources such as Electric, Solar, Wind, Geothermal, Hydroelectric and more efficient Biodiesel fuels.

All of this had the oil companies and big industries screaming bloody murder. They were finally being made to fix the things that they had helped to ruin or destroy. Quite frankly, they were taking it in the rear and it was being broken off and they didn’t like it.

While the new laws packed a hell of a punch to defend the environment, there was major trouble with them when they were passed. They lacked funding, meaning no new money was allowed to back them up. Across the board, no new rangers or law enforcement officers were to be added to the reservation territories.

The town of Three Deer where Snow Lynx and Blackwolf lived had received 500,000 acres of land, which meant that overnight the reservation had tripled in size. This also spread the rangers very thin. Blackwolf now had to actually ride the range to make sure the laws were being enforced. That meant he would be gone for long periods of time, sometimes for weeks.

Snow Lynx was always glad when Joshua came home after being gone for so long. She smiled broadly as her Wolf walked down the hall with a big tray of bacon, eggs, toast and very strong black coffee.

Joshua’s massive frame filled the bedroom doorway of their Montana-style ranch house. Did you miss me? he asked with a grin on his face.

Lynx let out a squeal of happiness, arms out stretched wide. You’re home! she said in an excited voice.

I made you breakfast, honey. He says as he puts the breakfast tray in front of her.

How did I get so lucky to land such a good, sweet and handsome man like you? she said with a grin from ear to ear.

Ho, I don’t know. Just lucky I guess. Joshua said with a smirk.

Blackwolf took a sip of his coffee and looked deep into Snow Lynx eyes, then his voice took on a more serious tone and his expression changed to serious. I have to head up to the north ridge of Lost Horse today. Council gave me a new assignment. Seems they got a tip that there are some loggers setting up a cut & run for a few days on reservation land. I already have the Armadillo ready to go. Thunder and Red Tail are loaded in the trailer ready to go. I need to load some gear. I’ll try and be back in a few days, he added in a somber voice.

Damn it, Wolf. You just got back from a three-week assignment looking for that dumping operation. Now you're going back out again. Damn it! What idiot signed the orders? Amber shouted at him, her face turning red. She snatched the paper out of Wolf’s hand and looked at the signature at the bottom. Her heart skipped three beats; the signature was hers. She had signed the order yesterday and put it on the rush stack.

Tears welled up inside her as she sobbed out loud, It’s not fair! You just got back! Not on this job. No! They can send someone else! she said in a pleading voice. Her mind raced with wild desperation trying to think of a way to keep him from going.

Who are you going to send? Huh? We have two officers on maternity leave. Big Jim’s on medical for a gunshot wound. Frank Morgan, Charlie Two Hawks, Kevin Rich, Eric Farmer, Susan White Fox and Sam Johnson are spread out over three patrol shifts. Jeff went on vacation and won’t be back for four more days. That leaves Larry and Jennifer. Neither of them could track a Big Foot if it was stomping holes halfway to China. Blackwolf paused briefly.

Amber giggled at the mental image of the statement.

Wolf continued, That leaves me and Jack, and Jack just left. He grinned.

Amber frowned. She knew that he was the only choice left, and the only right choice for this assignment. No matter how much she hated the decision, he was the only one for the job. Shaking her head she said grimly, I never should have signed that order.

Hey, if you hadn’t, someone else would have and I would still be going. So, don’t do this to yourself. Okay, honey? He smiled and kissed her deeply. He didn’t want to go; he wanted a few days off to rest before his next assignment, but that was the job. Joshua loved being a Ranger. He always wanted to make sure the job was done right. That was the reason why he didn’t quit.

To protect and serve the public interest, to make their new little town safe for everyone, that was his job. Ever since the town was founded in 2002, it had been a struggle. The state didn’t want to help with funding, and the government had little use for them.

For a long time it seemed as though the new little town would never be built. Then something unexpected happened. A big business company that had been fighting the town council over land dropped its suit. An old court case from 1970 bulls-eyed the nuclear refining plant’s land grant. Now that land was returned to the Sioux tribal council as a form of land reclamation for the Native American Indians. The court order allowed, as part of a much larger settlement, some 12800 acres or about 20 square miles.

Then, when the new president signed bill 9392 into law, the 20 square miles had yet another 30 square miles added to it. Overnight the territory had more than doubled in size, and had become a much bigger headache for Blackwolf and the other nineteen Rangers policing the town and surrounding areas.

As Amber ate her breakfast, she